Role in IT decision-making process:Align Business & IT GoalsCreate IT StrategyDetermine IT NeedsManage Vendor RelationshipsEvaluate/Specify Brands or VendorsOther RoleAuthorize PurchasesNot Involved

Work Phone:

Company:

Company Size:

Industry:

Street Address

City:

Zip/postal code

State/Province:

Country:

Occasionally, we send subscribers special offers from select partners. Would you like to receive these special partner offers via e-mail?YesNo

Your registration with Eweek will include the following free email newsletter(s):News & Views

By submitting your wireless number, you agree that eWEEK, its related properties, and vendor partners providing content you view may contact you using contact center technology. Your consent is not required to view content or use site features.

By clicking on the "Register" button below, I agree that I have carefully read the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy and I agree to be legally bound by all such terms.

Microsoft Hires Sun Microsystems' Top Chip Architect

Microsoft scoops up former Sun chip architect Marc Tremblay, in a move that strikes a blow to the besieged software and systems maker and further enriches the software giant. The hire continues Microsoft's New York Yankees-like acquisition of top talent.

Microsoft has scooped up former Sun chip architect Marc Tremblay, in a move that strikes a blow to the besieged software and systems maker and further enriches the software giant.

""Sun can confirm that Marc Tremblay, Sun Fellow and CTO for Microelectronics, has decided to leave the company. Rick Hetherington, who has served as co-CTO for Microelectronics with Tremblay, will assume leadership. We thank Marc for his many contributions over the last eighteen years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Hetherington has been with Sun for more than ten years and has served as co-CTO for the Microelectronics business unit for two years. Prior to that he spent sixteen years with Digital Equipment Corp. working on various processors and systems.""

Further reading

According to reports in the Wall Street Journal and other outlets, Tremblay will be joining Microsoft's Strategic Software/Silicon Architectures group, also known as SiArch.

But, you might ask, what would a software company want with somebody like Tremblay?

Well, the WSJ hazards a notion:

""Stepping back, it's easy to see how a person with Tremblay's talents could help the company. Microsoft's Xbox division, for example, has to think about which microprocessors to consider in designing a follow-up to its current gaming console. Its Windows group, meanwhile, has to design new versions of the operating system for the rapid proliferation of chips with many electronic brains rather than one or two.""

That seems to be close to the mark. The SiArch group works closely with Microsoft's strategic hardware partners and focuses on areas including parallel computing, green computing and adaptive computing.

A description of the Microsoft SiArch group said SiArch "reports into the Advanced Strategies & Policy division and is chartered with ensuring the success of novel advances in software and hardware by working cross divisionally to develop the Microsoft-wide strategies and build strong relationships with key hardware partners. The team works with the most senior technical and business people at Microsoft at the forefront of the software/hardware innovation areas" and helps set companywide direction.

However you look at it, Microsoft's hire of Tremblay, who worked at Sun for 18 years and helped architect the evolution of the company's SPARC line of processors, is a coup. It is a continuation of Microsoft's New York Yankees-like acquisition of some of the best talent available. In another recent move, Microsoft hired Jonathan Shapiro, a microkernel operating systems expert and professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University.

Advertiser Disclosure:
Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which QuinStreet receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. QuinStreet does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.